This invention relates to the preparation of poly(arylene sulfide/poly(arylene sulfide sulfone) block copolymers and the block copolymers thus produced.
Poly(arylene sulfide)s are important engineering thermoplastics that are highly crystalline and rigid, and exhibit good heat and chemical resistance. They are of commercial interest for film, fiber, moldings, and composite applications.
Poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)s are amorphous polymers and exhibit good mechanical properties relating to toughness, such as impact strength and flexibility, and are useful in molding in such areas as electrical components, wire coatings, automotive parts, and the like.
It would be desirable to produce a polymer composition which exhibits the advantages of both poly(arylene sulfide)s and poly(arylene sulfide sulfone)s, i.e. the flexibility and toughness of an amorphous material, while maintaining the chemical resistance and rigidity of a crystalline material.